Durbin nods yes, Roskam shakes his head no

Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam says scrap it.

Democrat U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin says pass it.

The two from Illinois, like much of the nation, remain divided over President Barack Obama's health-care reform bill, which was the topic of an all-day summit Thursday at the White House. Roskam and Durbin were among the 40 senators and representatives invited to the bipartisan gathering to discuss the proposed legislation.

During the summit, Roskam compared the bill to leftovers that no one wants to eat. He said the Democrats tried to sprinkle some bread crumbs on them to make them more appetizing, asking, "Do you like them now?" But Roskam says even with some likable add-ons, it's something no one wants.

"The key is, drop it, scrap it and start over," said the congressman from Wheaton. "The American public has listened, and they have said 'no.' The majority of my constituents want Congress to concentrate on creating jobs and bringing health-care costs down. They don't want this massive overhaul of the system."

Durbin disagreed, and accused the Republicans of applying a double standard, saying they all enjoy a nice, government-run employee health-care program.

"Shouldn't our health insurance be good enough for the rest of America?" said Durbin, of Springfield. "If you think it's a socialist plot and it's wrong, for goodness sake, drop out of the federal employee health-benefit program."

Durbin called the summit "productive," saying the two parties agree on most issues and meaningful change is within reach.

"I don't know if we can do it. It won't be easy. But even if it's difficult, we have to finish the job," Durbin said, echoing Obama's sentiment that the Democrats will move forward with or without Republican support. "We've got a lot to do, and very little time to do it. We've got to move from health care to more job creation and economic development."

Roskam prefers to start over from scratch, and approach the problem incrementally.

"There's some merit to talking about changing our medical liability system. Merit to talking about purchasing health care across state lines, or allowing small businesses to pool together. But (Obama) is not willing to separate the good ideas out from all the others," Roskam said. "If he were willing to do that, we'd be willing to pass some bipartisan bills."